The Synesthesia effects of Online Advertising Stimulus Design on Word-of-Mouth and Purchase Intention: From the Perspective of Consumer Olfactory and Gustatory

Multisensory marketing has been seen as an approach improving advertising effect in the social science, neuroscience, and marketing literature. For examining visual/audio synesthesia, the effect of smelling and tasting an online product, this study first developed design elements of digital video advertising: rational/emotional appeals and fast/slow tempo. Moreover, it strives to investigate empirically the effects of various online advertisement contexts on consumer emotion, attitude, and behavioral intention. We used event-related potentials (ERPs) in a scenario-based laboratory experiments. Data collected from 166 customers provide strong support for the research model. Through EEG and SEM analyses, in rational advertisings, consumers’ olfactory was triggered and both arousal and pleasure of the emotions affected the attitudes; in emotional advertisings, not only olfactory but gustatory were triggered and only pleasure affected the attitudes. By understanding online advertising design and synesthesia, insights from the findings can benefit designers and marketers in implementing more effective marketing strategies.